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March 14, 2019

SEO myths debunked

If you do an Internet search on SEO, you’ll be bombarded with a long list of search results. With SEO being a complicated subject at times and an area that is prone to constant change, it’s easy for false information or myths to spread as quickly as a viral Internet meme. More frustratingly, SEO myths can often keep marketers from improving their search engine rankings and website traffic.

Today, Autopilot debunks the 3 most popular SEO myths:

SEO is a one-time project

Many people think that they only need to work on their SEO once and that’s the end of the story; they are wrong. In reality, SEO is an ongoing project that should be part of your broader marketing strategy. To avoid falling behind, your SEO efforts must also be nurtured regularly to ensure your site is constantly ranked. It’s also important that you are on top of changes to search engine algorithms, advances in technology and what your competitors are doing.

Keyword density leads to high rankings

Keyword density is the measurement, in percentage, of the number of times a keyword (or phrase) appears on a page relative to the total number of words.

Keyword density is integral in driving your website’s usability and relevance, two factors that search engines are really interested in. This doesn’t mean that you should be sprinkling your keywords liberally all over your page, though. In fact, mentioning your keywords too many times can make it harder for your readers to engage with your content — smart readers will realize what you’re doing and be turned off by your website. It also makes your site look spammy; readers hate that, and so do search engines.

We recommend incorporating keywords in your copy as often as you can but make sure your content flows naturally. By ensuring your pages are user-friendly and filled with readable and interesting content, your readers are more likely to remain highly engaged.

Many links equal higher rankings

A common misconception is that more inbound links to your website equal higher rankings. Sure, inbound links are great — after all, it’s nice when someone links one of your articles on their own website — but they are only truly effective if they are good quality links.

Occasionally, companies may approach you for reciprocal links. You may also be confronted with offers to pay for your website to be linked elsewhere. As tempting as these strategies may be, we advise you to tread with caution. The probability of getting poor quality links is high and there is a chance a link to your page may appear on shady sites (you know, the ones that install viruses and promote weight loss pills).

If you want to be linked, your goal should be to create a website that is so user-friendly and engaging that people would genuinely want to share your links on their own pages or LinkedIn feed. And whenever this happens, search engines will naturally think you’re highly relevant (and rightfully so!), thus helping you increase your rankings.